


If Akiteru is the apple that didn't fall far from the tree then Kei's the strawberry farm across the road

by NeonSauce



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AKITERU NEEDS MORE LOVE, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Shit tit tacos, Slight angst tho not much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:54:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4970668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonSauce/pseuds/NeonSauce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Akiteru meets the team, plays a game and tells them his life story. Featuring Sugamama, 'GWAAAAH', and copious amounts of screaming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If Akiteru is the apple that didn't fall far from the tree then Kei's the strawberry farm across the road

**Author's Note:**

> Basically all I'm saying is that Akiteru needs to protected. Chapter 177 physically hurt me j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶K̶e̶i̶

Tsukishima is not at school. 

This would not be an issue. People miss school all the time! And Tsukishima was a very punctual and organized person, so he’d would not miss school for anything other than a plausible reason, like illness or family issues.

What was worrying was Yamaguchi.

Sugawara rests his head against the wall, allowing his breathing to slow, before taking a sip of water. Practice was particularly grueling that day, a combination of wind sprints, seemingly endless spikes, and an eight minute long plank _(Shimizu-san was truly evil. Tanaka theorized all her evil plans and good curse words were hidden behind that mole)_ left everyone breathless. But the main event - a six on six game - was about to begin.

That is, it would begin if Tsukishima was actually there.

“Y’sure you ain’t covering for him, haah?” Tanaka growls, a couple feet away from Suga. His target, Yamaguchi smiles nervously and shuffles backwards slightly.

“No no, I really don’t know where he is. He wasn’t at the bus stop this morning, and he hasn’t texted me all day. Maybe something came up?” Tanaka takes that as an acceptable answer and sprint off to Nishinoya, who’s yelling something about either Shimizu-san, meat buns, or his Rolling Thunder. Quite possibly a combination of all three. Yamaguchi stares after him, mild concern gracing his features. Suga decides to do a little research.

“Yamaguchi?” He says, and the boy in question nearly drops his water bottle, before whipping around to face Suga.

“Yes?” He squeaks, honest to god squeaks, and Suga swallows the giggle that threatens to surface. Instead, he smiles gently, and Yamaguchi relaxes.

“Are you okay? You’ve been kind of… out of it.” Suga says, for lack of better word. Yamaguchi sheepishly rubs the back of his neck, a habit he’s had since he joined the volleyball team. But he glances towards the door, and his hand falters for a second, before his face adopts an expression that’s a mixture of disappointed and worried. 

“You’re worried about Tsukishima, aren’t you.” Suga says, taking extra care to make sure that he makes it a statement, not a question. Yamaguchi opens his mouth to argue, then lets out a sigh, and some of the tension he’d been carrying for the duration of practice seeps out of him. Instead of the satisfaction that Suga had been expecting, he feels empathy.

“Yeah… I’m worried.” Yamaguchi sighs, an ashamed smile adorning his face, almost as if he didn’t want anyone to know. “He usually tells me if he isn’t gonna be showing up to class. And when I called his mom, she just said that he wouldn’t be able to make it to school today. She sounded really stressed out, so I didn’t ask anymore than that, but I -” Yamaguchi cuts himself off and sighs. Suga puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, and smiles warmly.

“If something happened to him, you’d be the first person to know. Trust his family on this one, okay?” He says to Yamaguchi, who pauses, and then lets rest of the tension melts away. 

“Ah, is this a good time?” A foreign voice says, and everyone turns to the door to face the newcomer. He’s tall, about Asahi’s size, but he carries himself with the confidence Asahi has on the court. He has hair as blonde as Yachi’s, and yellow eyes like Nekoma’s setter. His voice is light and airy, pleasant. He’s almost like someone Suga knows, but he can’t quite put his finger on it…

“Aki-nii?” Yamaguchi gasps from besides Suga, and the ‘Aki-nii’ in question shoots a grin his way.

“YOU HAVE A BROTHER YAMAGUCHI OH MY GOD I NEVER KNEW THAT HE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE YOU” Hinata shrieks from his end of the court, springing into the air.

“No no! My name is Tsukishima Akiteru, I’m Kei’s older brother.” Akiteru says sheepishly, smiling in the exact same way Tsukishima does when talking to cashiers and strangers, but without the edge that Tsukishima has. Silence hangs in the air, before everyone - in true Karasuno fashion - screams all at once.

The stranger - Akiteru - doesn’t even seem fazed. He just smiles again, less gentle and more cheerful, and speaks again. “I saw you all play against Shiratorizawa, you were incredible.”

“Are you here about Tsukish- I mean Kei?” Ukai asks, cutting straight to the chase. 

“Ah yes, sorry I got distracted.” Akiteru says, stepping into the gym. Everyone follows him, until he has a semi-circle of volleyball-crazed high schoolers surrounding him. He blinks, seemingly surprised by this development. “Um, how do I put this… Kei’s… he’s kinda in the hospital?” Everyone stares blankly, and Akiteru quickly corrects himself. “Yeah, he’s in the hospital.”

Sugawara greatly regrets choosing to sit by Nishinoya. Actually never mind. He regrets being in the gym when that was announced.

“He got hit by a car on the way to the bus stop where he and Yamaguchi meet. He’s got a minor concussion and he’s kinda scratched up, but that’s all. He’s honestly fine, he’s just gonna be in there until tomorrow night. He’s not gonna die. I promise.” Akiteru says once everyone’s stopped screaming/crying/passing out. 

“So, can we see him today?” Daichi asks.

“I wouldn’t recommend it. Kei’s been really grumpy, and he’s mostly been sleeping all day. You could probably visit tomorrow if you wanted.” Everyone seems satisfied with Akiteru’s answer.

“Can you stay!?” Hinata yells, and everyone freezes. Akiteru seems shocked. “We wanna do a six on six match but Tsukishima isn’t here so we can’t but you can take his place right you play volleyball right!?” 

“Umm, if it’s alright with your coach. I am a wing spiker though, so I can’t really help you there…”

“We just need another player, it’s fine. C’mon, the way you’re dressed makes it looks like you just came from the gym. You should be warmed up enough.” Ukai says, and the final nail is driven into the coffin. Akiteru’s fate is sealed.

Four minutes, two spilt water bottles, a volleyball to the head and a screeching match later, the teams are sorted. Oddball combo, Asahi, Kinoshita, Narita and Ennoshita against Daichi, Tanaka, Nishinoya, Sugawara, Yamaguchi and Akiteru. Tanaka notices the teams and immediately begins to whine.

“This is bullshit! They’ve got our ace, and the oddball combo? C’mon!” He whines loudly and behind him Nishinoya yells something in agreement.

“College players have far more experience, and if you remember our games against Nekoma and Aoba Jousai, that can go a long way.” Tanaka grumbles in response to Ukai’s words, there’s a couple friendly and not so friendly taunts thrown everyone’s way, and the game commences. 

The play goes disastrous almost immediately. Yamaguchi manages to receive Kageyama’s serve, but they’re thrown into disarray. Sugawara and Nishinoya go for the ball, and they collide, nothing like how Daichi went, but the ball heads over towards the net. Everyone waits for the ball to drift over to the other side.

Akiteru sprints from the back of the court, leaps forwards, and hits the ball directly into Ennoshita’s arms, sending it straight into the net. 

“OH MY GOD”

“HOLY SHIT TIT TACOS”

“THAT’S AMAZING”

“IS NO ONE GOING TO ADDRESS THE FACT THAT KINOSHITA SAID SHIT TIT TACOS”

Everyone’s screeching, Kiyoko and Yachi are standing shell shocked on the sidelines, Takeda’s clipboard is on the floor where he dropped it, and Ukai’s on the ground, after falling from the ref’s spot by the net. Akiteru turns to Suga and gives a thumbs up.

“Nice receive! Even if that was a complete accident and a huge mess up, you still executed that better than our setter could.” Akteru laughs and everyone stares at him.

“Are you sure you’re related to Tsukishima?” Kageyama asks, then promptly gets hit by Tanaka.

“Yeah… sorry about the way he acts. That’s kinda my fault honestly.” 

“How?” Hinata asks, and Akiteru’s smile wavers, there’s pain and sadness and guilt there, but he just says “After the game, okay?”

Suga’s side ends up winning the second set, 27-25. Everyone’s dripping sweat, in various puddles of human on the floor. Hinata’s demanding spiking advice from Akiteru, who’s gulping water like his life depends on it. 

“YOU JUMPED REALLY HIGH AND YOU WERE ALL LIKE ‘GWOOOOSH’ AND ‘GWAHH’ TEACH ME AKI-NII” Akiteru spews water all over the gym floor and Kageyama hits Hinata on the back of the head.

“Dumbass, you met him today! Don’t go calling him ‘nii’ already!” Kageyama yells, continuously beating Hinata on the back of the head.

“It’s fine! Really, it is! You just…” Akiteru trails off, his tone wistful. “You sounded exactly like how Kei used to. He’d always yell for me to teach him new volleyball tricks when he was younger.” The court grew silent during the time Akiteru was speaking, and everyone’s staring at him, hanging onto his every word. Akiteru sighs.

“I’m going to tell you a story.” He says, and Yamaguchi makes a noise of protest from across the court, but Akiteru silences it with his hand. “And if Kei catches wind that you know this story, I will die. Kei will actually kill me, then probably kill you using my dead body. He must not know that you know. Understood?” Akiteru finishes, and everyone nods solemnly. Yamaguchi hesitates, then nods slowly.

“This is a story about a single lie. A lie I told many times, a relatively small lie that snowballed and grew into something much bigger, that destroyed my relationship with him.” Akiteru says, and the smile on his face that’s entirely guilt. He sucks in a breath, and begins to speak. 

He talk about younger Kei. About how younger Kei was curious and inquisitive, he was a sponge that soaked in the world, enthusiastic about everything and discouraged by nothing. He talks about being the ace, about the thrill of hitting the ball to the ground with a slam and the rush from your victories, the frustration from your failures. Akiteru talks about sunshine, smiles and love, a certain love that makes Hinata nod in agreement and Tanaka grin with fondness.

Akiteru moves on. He talks about the wall he hit, the games he never played, the slump he faced. He talked about lies and deception, about the eternal frustration about never being good enough. He fought and clawed, poured sweat, blood and tears into volleyball but it _never was enough_. Asahi’s hands tremble, Kageyama looks away, they all feel that pang in their heart of understanding.

Then, Akiteru speaks of something none of them have really experienced. Betrayal. Of that one game, that one _fucking game_ that killed them both. Of the horror and shock that was in Kei’s eyes, of the coldness that washed over his body, of the bomb that dropped between the two of them. Kei stopped feeling, and Akiteru stopped trying. They crumbled. He left for university with nothing more than a wave, and Kei watched from the window of his bedroom as the car drove away. They’re silent after he’s done speaking. Suga stares down at Akiteru, who’s still on the floor. His smile has twisted into a bitter grimace, and he laughs sourly.

“It’s gotten better. We’re never gonna go back to before. Not a chance. But…” Akiteru smiles again, and it’s different from every other smile he’s given since they met. There’s pride, hope and pure _love_ in his eyes, and Suga’s heart melts slightly. “We’re growing. He forgave, he forgave me a long time ago. And I’ve matured enough to know that what I did was wrong, and that I’m able to fix it.”

“I built a wall, and Kei had the misfortune of hitting it, and hitting it hard. But you-” Akiteru gestures with his hand, pointing to the entire team. “You _demolished_ it. You all showed him that he’s not going to get anywhere by not trying. And that’s bringing him back. He’s still going to be an asshole-” Tanaka snorts at that. “And he’s still going to make a fuss. But he’s finally gonna fight, and try, and win. So please help him with that.” 

”And whatever you do, if you’ve hit a wall, there’s no shame in telling someone. Let people know. Your friends and family are the best people to help you through those times. Don’t remain silent. _Please_.” Something in Akiteru’s voice cracks, but he doesn’t look sad. There’s warmth and desperation, but he’s trusting them, and Suga stares down at Akiteru for a couple of seconds, before reaching a hand down to help him up.

“Do you think you’re up for another game?” He asks, and Akiteru stares at his hand before smiling warmly at him.  
“Let’s do it.”

\-------------------------------

“TSUKISHIMAAAAAAAAAA” Tanaka and Nishinoya screech as the burst into the room. Tsukishima jumps, evidently startled, and he stares in shock at the sight of them.

“How did you-”

“YOU BASTARD HOW DARE YOU GET HURT AGAIN BEFORE NATIONALS!!! I SHOULD DESERVE SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR THE TRAUMA YOU PUT ME THROUGH!!! TWO GARI-GARI ICE POPS, NOW” Nishinoya yells, before Daichi hits him on the head and snaps something about hospital regulations.

“...Akiteru…” Tsukishima mutters, and everyone freezes, just for a second, when Yamaguchi comes to their rescue.

“Mm. He knew we’d be worried, so he came to practice the yesterday and played with us and told us. Aki-nii is really good!” Yamaguchi chirrups, and a faint smile graces Tsukishima’s face. It’s fond, and genuine, and it get’s Suga’s gears turning. There’s at least fourteen ways to get the two of them together.

But for now, he lets it be. He manages the second years, helps Yachi and Shimizu-san carry the small strawberry shortcake cake over to Tsukishima, he’ll laugh when Hinata somehow gets frosting in his hair and he’ll shoot a small comforting smile to Tsukishima when he inevitably gets overwhelmed from all the attention that they’re lavishing onto him.

And when they inevitably get kicked out for “unruly behaviour” and “disturbing other patients” _(“Bullshit” Tanaka mutters “Who the hell decided that you can’t play pickup volleyball in a hospital?”)_ Suga will linger back, ruffle Tsukishima’s hair and say “Get well soon, k?”

If Suga had stayed longer, he would’ve seen Tsukishima’s hand go to the top of his head and rest there, then he’d smile a special type of smile that can only be described as blissful. 

But for now, that’s a smile that Akiteru can keep to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!


End file.
